The Greatest Test
by CuddlyHawk
Summary: LONG-AWAITED SEQUEL TO SIMON'S SUMMER! READ THAT ONE FIRST! Alvin and Theodore are trying to adjust to their new lives without Simon when someone pays them a visit, but there's a catch. Rated T for violence, but not as bad as in Simon's Summer
1. Memories

The Greatest Test

General POV

Theodore walked down the hallway at school, head low, deep in thought. He barely noticed the people he nearly knocked into.

"Watch it!" One kid yelled as Theo walked right into them. Theodore blinked twice before looking up at the big jock that he had run into. The guy was so buff, it looked like he could have lifted a car if he wanted to. Theo had trouble believing that the jock was the same age as him.

Theo glanced down. "Sorry," he mumbled before walking off again. The jock ran up to Theo.

"Hold up, kid," he said angrily, grabbing the back of Theo's shirt, forcing him to stop. "You don't just walk into me then walk away with no punishment. You need to be taught manners," the jock held back his big fist, ready to hit Theodore, whose eyes widened in fear. Theo flashbacked to earlier that summer; when his second-oldest brother might have seen the same thing. Fear froze the green-clad chipmunk to the spot.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a red blur slammed full-speed into the jock, making him call out, startled, letting go of Theodore in the process.

Theo turned to the red blur and saw his brother, Alvin. Alvin was seething in anger, panting loudly through his teeth. He stormed up to the jock and got right in his face. Jabbing his finger into his stomach, Alvin growled, "Don't... you... EVER... threaten... to... hurt... my... brother!"

The jock was too much in shock to do anything about it, so he just let Alvin walk away with Theo.

As they started walking, Theo turned to Alvin. "Thank you," he said quietly, yet sincerely.

Alvin gave a small, sad smile and put his arm protectively around his baby brother. "I have to protect you; I can't lose you too."

At these words, memories flooded back to Theodore about what happened a couple months ago.

_They had been staying at their aunt's house for the whole summer. They, meaning Theo, Alvin, Simon, and Dave. Theo was always on his aunt's good side. She always helped him with everything, and was so kind about it._

_But apparently that wasn't the case for his second-oldest brother, Simon. The blue-clad chipmunk always seemed to be in trouble with the woman. At one point, Theo actually saw his aunt's son, Josh, tattle on Simon for something he didn't do, framing him just so he would get in trouble._

_However, Theo thought it was only framing. But when he saw Simon's hand bandaged up for no reason, and questioned it, Simon insisted that it was nothing. Theo thought better, but kept his mouth shut._

_Theodore had no idea that his aunt was physically abusing his older brother behind everyone's backs._

_Later that week, as Theo, Alvin, Josh, and Dave were going to see a movie, Dave's phone rang. When he answered it, Theo knew that something was terribly wrong; there was just hard panting and sobbing on the other line. It sounded like Simon, but Theodore had never heard his older brother sound like he was hurt so badly._

_After some cries and whimpers came through the phone, and after some failed attempts to get Simon to speak, Dave decided to head home as quickly as he could._

_Theo had been the first one to get home and was the one who actually watched his brother get abused by his aunt while trapped in the bathroom. Their aunt had a knife, and as she held it over Simon's exposed back, Theo could do nothing but stare into his brother's scared, grey eyes, hoping Simon had enough strength to survive this._

_After a few horrific, bloody stabs and quiet, pained cries, Simon begged Theo silently to get Dave and Alvin. As they ran back, however, Simon was on his back, looking up at his aunt as she held the knife over his heart._

_In went the knife._

_After Dave called the police on his sister and she was arrested, and Simon was rushed to the hospital, Theo fretted that if Simon didn't make it, it would be his entire fault for not seeing the signs that Simon was being hurt._

_It turned out Simon passed away on the surgery table._

Theodore's memories got interrupted when Alvin gently shook him. "Theo," Alvin whispered.

Theo snapped out of it and looked at his oldest-and only-brother. His vision was blurred, meaning Theo was just about to cry, but was able to wipe them away before anyone saw. Alvin smiled compassionately and hugged his baby brother close as the two Chipmunks walked solemnly home.


	2. Nighttime Mourning

That night, Theo found himself remembering Simon. Who wouldn't? Simon was the brother he could tell his deepest secrets to and Theo wasn't afraid of being shunned or having it become spread around. Simon helped him with his homework and explained everything in a way that Theodore could easily understand.

Simon was always there for him, no matter what.

Theo rolled over and looked at the empty bed between his and Alvin's. The covers had been pulled off and it just looked like a regular mattress covering the bare skeleton of the bedframe.

Theo lost count of the many times all three brothers snuck into each other's beds to spend the night. Especially when Theo got nightmares. Simon always knew how to soothe him (running his fingers through his hair and rubbing his back always worked well), then would let Theo share his bed. Then later, Alvin, feeling left out, would join. It was a tight fit with them together, but it was fun and completely worth it. But now since Simon was gone, Theo had to cope with the nightmares by himself, and neither brother shared their bed.

Theo sat up further and saw Simon's pillow. In an almost dream-like state, Theo slipped out of bed and walked to Simon's bed. He gently stood by it and stared. He didn't know what to expect, but stared nonetheless. He leaned over and saw the small crater that Simon had made in his bed because he was always on it; doing homework, studying, or sleeping. Simon could always be found there.

Theo grabbed the pillow and held it to his nose. Taking a deep breath, his eyes filled with tears at smelling his brother's scent. It might not sound like much to anyone else, but Theo treasured it deeply. He kept the pillow pressed to his face as he quietly sobbed.

He felt like it was his entire fault for letting Simon die.

"What are you doing?" Theo jumped at the quiet voice. Turning to Alvin's bed, he saw the red-clad chipmunk resting on his elbows and looking at Theo, a slightly confused look on his face.

Theo quickly put the pillow down. "Remembering," he replied gently, looking down again. Theodore heard the familiar creak of Alvin's bed as Alvin got up and came up to Simon's bed with Theodore.

"Does it smell like him?" Alvin asked while motioning towards the pillow Theodore so quickly put down. Without looking up, Theodore nodded, tears forming again.

Alvin gently reached for the pillow and sniffed it carefully. Memories flooded him as well.

_Alvin remembered the time Simon had done his science project for him, and gotten first place. He remembered on the first day of school, he was very nervous while Simon was confident. Simon actually helped Alvin find his best friend that he still has to this day. Alvin remembered a long time ago, he was going to fall out of a tree in their backyard, and when he did, Simon was there to catch him. More recently, Alvin could almost see himself wrapping Simon's burnt hand._

_That memory triggered new memories. Memories that Alvin so deeply wanted to forget. He remembered seeing Simon sitting on his bed, taking off this glove he had on, but was wincing. Alvin came over and after a bit of pressuring, Simon let Alvin examine his hand. Alvin concluded it was a bad burn and tried to help Simon move his fingers again. It worked somewhat; he could move his fingers better than earlier. Then Alvin dressed the wound. That was the last thing Alvin and Simon did together._

Alvin reluctantly put the pillow down again and looked at Theo, who was staring at him. Alvin walked around the bed and gave Theo a big hug. Theo, though very distraught about Simon, was grateful he still had Alvin. Theo squeezed Alvin ever so slightly, listening to his heartbeat and steady breathing.


	3. The Ritual

The next morning, Dave woke up his sons. "Come on, Fellas! It's time for school!" He called, opening the window. As he looked at their beds to see if they were getting up, he purposely avoided looking at Simon's bed; otherwise he knew he would feel miserable the rest of the day.

Alvin groaned. "I don't wanna go to school!" And pulled the covers tighter on himself.

Theo didn't say anything, nor did he move.

Dave walked to Alvin and sat on the edge of the bed. 'Should I say this?' He thought. After a second of contemplating, he decided on saying it. "Alvin, would Simon want you to do this?"

Alvin stopped moving and became tense at the mention of Simon's name. It was the first time anyone had said his name since the incident. Dave pulled the covers halfway off. Alvin seemed to be staring at nothing. Dave stroked his oldest son's hair.

"Simon would want you to get up and go to school, wouldn't he? I mean, that was his favorite thing to do; go to school and get good grades. Do you think, if he were just on a vacation or something, he would ask you to be on your best behavior at school and at home?"

Alvin felt wet streaks go down his cheeks and a lump form in his throat, but still didn't move.

"He would want you to continue so that it's almost like he's still living..." Dave put his hand against Alvin's small chest and felt his racing heart. "... In here."

Alvin broke down sobbing right there. He sat up and hugged Dave, trying to feel better. Dave hugged back. Alvin quickly got up and threw on his clothes for the day.

Theodore heard Dave's words as well. Holding back a sob, he crawled out of bed and got ready for school. Within minutes, Alvin and Theodore were on their way to school, but said nothing as they walked there nor spoke while at school.

When they got home, the two chipmunks did their homework side by side, yet spoke no words. When they finished, they went to bed without dinner.

Dave began to worry. 'Theo never misses dinner. Something drastic must be wrong,' he figured.

As he walked up to his children's room, he heard soft voices come from within. "... we all miss you. If there's any way you could show us that you're okay now, that would be great," Dave heard Theo say quietly, sniffling. "We don't want you to be in pain anymore."

"Yeah. We would give anything for one last day to say goodbye," Alvin added shakily.

The words his children spoke pulled at Dave's heartstrings. Cracking the door a tiny bit, he peeked in and saw Alvin and Theodore standing over Simon's bed, but were resting on their elbows, their hands clasped tightly with each other. Between them was Simon's pillow.

"Good night... B-big brother," Theo said, staring at the pillow through blurred eyes. He wanted to call Simon by his name, but couldn't just yet.

"'Night," Alvin mumbled to the pillow as well.

Then the chipmunks went to their respective beds, crawled under the covers, and didn't move. It was almost like a ritual, and Dave felt somewhat honored to have witnessed it. He just wondered how long they had been doing that. Since the incident?

Since the funeral?

Dave shrugged it off and walked in the room and gave Alvin then Theodore a gentle kiss before heading to bed himself.


	4. Heaven

Simon's POV

As I walked into the light with my mom and Cookie Chomper III, I couldn't help but gasp at the wonders all around me. It was like a perfect world. There was a bright blue sky with just a few clouds, the sun barely peeking over them, making the air not too hot nor too cold. There was a gentle breeze which was enough to play with your hair yet soft enough to not mess it up. Green, crisp grass grew everywhere, and many gravel paths went here and there. Every now and then you'd see a river trickling into a pond filled with fish. It was a stunning sight.

However, it seemed a bit blurred to me. I was wearing my glasses, so I decided to take them off. As soon as I did, the world became crystal clear. I had never, not even with glasses, seen so clearly before. Staring around, I folded my glasses and put them inside of a nearby, low-floating cloud. They immediately disappeared so I wouldn't have to worry about them anymore.

_Why don't I need my glasses?_ I thought as I gazed at the wonders around me. The answer hit me as if I should have known all along. _Oh, duh! I don't have a physical body anymore, so I don't have the defects that my body came with, including tiredness, hunger, or poor vision._ However, as I looked over myself, I saw all the scars I had because of my aunt; many littered my back, a large one was right in the center of my chest from the knife, my hand was red from when she burned it, and my nose was still a bit askew. I moved on quickly and observed my surroundings again.

Each person must have seen something different, but as I looked around, I saw University after University, all begging me to go to that one, offering full scholarships and everything.

I made a mental note to go back to those after I checked out the rest of Heaven.

Cookie was very excited to show me his friends. He made so many, I couldn't even keep track.

Then I spent some time with Mom. She brought me to her little wood cottage. It reminded me so much of where I was born, I had to pinch myself to realize it wasn't the same place. I stayed with Mom for what felt like a while, but there is no time in Heaven, so I don't know how long it really was.

There's also no night because no one needs to sleep; they have no body that must be recharged at the end of every day. So at some point in time, I felt myself becoming woozy. "Mom," I told her. "I don't feel too good," I held my head.

She rushed over and held me tightly. Looking up, she prayed, "Oh, God. Not him. Not my baby Simon!"

I was a bit freaked out. "Mom? What's wrong?"

"Simon, just lay down. You're going to be okay," she tried to reassure. I just became more agitated.

"Why? What's happening? Please tell me!"

"Simon, before you're officially an angel and can live forever in Heaven, you must prove yourself worthy," my mother began. "God lets everyone come in to Heaven just for a bit so they can learn to love it and actually crave it. But now comes the judgment. In a moment, you're going to be taken to God himself, and he will appoint you a job. You will go back down to Earth as an angel, and will have one week to complete your job. If you do it, great; you're back in Heaven. If not, well, you'll go to… down there."

I gulped. What if I couldn't do it? How could I survive without my mother? I felt my spirit fading as my mom grabbed my hand. "You'll do fine. Just don't panic and you'll be okay..." Her voice faded away as my world became black.


	5. The Test

Simon's POV

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on my stomach in a white room. 'Huh, just like when I was in the coma a while ago,' I thought to myself. I pushed myself off my chest and looked around. There was nothing. Fear clenched my heart.

'Mom?' I wanted to ask, but knew it would be futile. So I just sat and waited. Suddenly, a deep voice which boomed from everywhere spoke to me. I immediately cowered where I stood, and sank to my knees. I knew I just had to obey this voice.

"Simon Seville. I am God… You, though young, have given an exemplary show of responsibility and love. It pleases me to see this. Your brothers, Alvin and Theodore, miss you dearly," a cloud formed and as I looked closer, I could see them holding hands around my pillow, talking to it.

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you, big brother," I heard Theo say. "I feel like the whole thing is my fault. I miss you. We all miss you. If there's any way you could show us that you're okay now, that would be great. We don't want you to be in pain anymore."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. This was worse than reading fan mail.

Alvin spoke next. "Yeah. We would give anything for one last day to say goodbye..."

The cloud faded away, leaving me alone with God again. "I am going to not only grant Alvin's wish, but also have you go through the ritual. I know your mother already told you what it was, so I'm not going to bore you with another explanation."

I smiled amusingly.

"So your job is to save someone's life. I don't care whose it is, just do it. Can you do that, Simon?"

I nodded. "Will people be able to see me?"

"Only your brothers. Not even Dave will see you. If someone other than your brothers try to touch you, you will feel like air, or nothing, to them. The only people who can touch you or that you can touch are your brothers. You will also have some degree of transparency as well. You may have a halo if you would like, but everyone complained about wings, so I only give them to my veteran angels. Is that enough information?"

I smiled. "Yes. When do I go to Earth?"

I felt myself becoming woozy again. "Right now. One week. Make it last," I heard as I felt myself bring sucked down, down, almost as if I were being flushed or something. Finally, I landed right outside my house.


	6. Discovery

General POV

That night, like many other nights in the past, Alvin and Theodore cried themselves asleep. Theo was having a small nightmare, and tossed and turned in bed, whimpering slightly.

In Theo's dream, there were many short nightmares. In the first, all three brothers were hanging over a cliff. Alvin held the edge and Theodore's hand while Theo held Simon's hand. Suddenly, Simon slipped out of Theo's grasp, and went spiraling down to his death. The scene changed to them all in a boat. Theo was captain and was making the boat do many stunts: jumps, 180 degree turns, and other dangerous stuff like that. As Theo drove over a ramp, however, Simon fell out of the boat, and drowned right there.

This continued all night, every night, since the funeral. There was a different scene and reason for death every time. However, it was always Theodore's fault.

That was normal for Theodore. Alvin, on the other hand, was sleeping lightly. He found he had been doing that a lot lately. A small tap on the window was enough to wake him.

As Alvin sat up in bed, wondering what the noise was while rubbing his eye, he heard it again. His head snapped towards the window. Cautiously, he walked to the window and peeked out, almost afraid of what he would see.

At first, he saw nothing. Then, as he looked closer, he saw a small shape just underneath his window. But since his room was on the second floor, he couldn't make out what it was. But he could tell that it was glowing slightly, as it had a pale, whitish color to it, and it was pitch black outside.

Alvin silently tiptoed downstairs and looked out the living room window, which was just under his room. Alvin's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what he saw.

He looked pretty much normal. He just glowed a soft white color. Most of the glow came from his head, where a little white halo sat, just hovering over his hair. He had his regular clothes on, and their colors seemed more vibrant than normal. However, he wasn't wearing his signature "nerd" glasses. As Alvin looked closer, he saw he could see right through him. He wore an almost fearful face, and stood like he was afraid Alvin would answer. He nervously played with his fingers as he glanced up every now and then.

"Simon," Alvin whispered for the first time in what felt like forever.


	7. Reunion

General POV

Simon, though on the other side of the window glass, heard his older brother's whisper, and turned his head towards the window. He was a bit surprised yet also very relieved to see Alvin standing there, but with a confused look.

Simon walked to the window. Placing his hands on the sill and smiling, he said, "Hey Alvin,"

Simon saw Alvin's chest rise and fall quicker, which meant he was panicking. His eyes also became as big as dinner plates.

"Alvin, it's okay! It's me, Simon! I'm alright!"

Alvin made no movement that he heard or understood.

Simon didn't want to scare Alvin any more than he already did, so he pointed to the door and pantomimed as he spoke. "Can you unlock it for me?"

Alvin glanced at the door then back at Simon. Dumbfounded, he nodded and walked to the door. After he unlocked it, Alvin stared at his supposedly dead brother.

Simon didn't like the awkward tension. "Alvin, I'm okay, see?" Simon held out his hand for Alvin to touch. Alvin's mouth was slightly ajar the whole time, but glanced down at his brother's hand and slowly reached out to it. After a second, they had their palms pressed together.

Alvin's vision became blurred as he looked up at his brother again. It was then Alvin realized Simon was back. Simon smiled compassionately and held out his arms. Alvin rushed over and squeezed him tightly, burying his face into his brother's chest. "I thought you were gone," Alvin whispered, his voice slightly muffled by Simon's bright blue sweater. "We had the funeral. It's been a few months. Where have you been?" Alvin didn't sound cross, but more awestruck and overjoyed.

Simon gently pulled Alvin off him and held him out at arm's length. "I am gone," Alvin's eyes widened. "I am dead," Alvin's jaw dropped. "I needed to come back because I need to save someone's life before I can enter Heaven. So I'm going to be here for a week." Simon told Alvin regretfully.

Alvin seemed upset at first, and then was accepting because he got to spend a final week with his little brother. Hugging him one more time, he inhaled deeply. Simon still had his familiar "Simon" scent, making Alvin smile.

Suddenly, Alvin thought of something. "Theodore would want to see you!" Alvin grabbed Simon's hand and nearly dragged him up the stairs. Once they reached the room, the first thing Simon noticed was his bed. It was stripped of its blankets and such and left only a mattress and pillow.

Raising his eyes, the next thing Simon noticed was his younger brother, Theodore, sleeping restlessly in bed. He whimpered as he tossed and turned. Simon walked over quietly, Alvin right behind him.

Simon leaned over Theo and placed his hand on his brother's head. Running his fingers through Theodore's frazzled hair, Simon whispered encouraging words to Theo. Still asleep, Theo responded by smiling and leaning towards Simon's hand.

After a minute, Theodore woke up with a small sigh. His eyes fluttered open, but they were blurry from sleep. Simon kept stroking the green-clad chipmunk's hair. Finally, Theodore was able to rub the sleep from his eyes and focus on Simon.

His eyes became huge, but a disbelieving smile soon covered his whole face. Sitting up quickly, he stared at his dead brother, trying to see if it was a trick. Simon kept running his fingers through Theodore's hair, smiling weakly.

Theo glanced at Alvin for an explanation and saw his oldest brother trying to hold back tears as he watched them. Theo turned back to Simon and grinned before wrapping his arms around him tightly. Simon hugged him back.

Looking over at Alvin, Simon held out an arm, motioning for him to join the hug. He did so without delay.

After a very long time, Theo suggested, "Simon? Do you wanna sleep in your bed tonight?"

Simon sighed. 'Better now than never,' "Yeah, I'd like that a lot, Theo," he began. "However, there IS something I need to tell you. Alvin already knows some of it..."

And so Simon told both brothers about how he had seen their mother as well as Cookie ("Can he come back too?"), and how Simon now had a job-to save someone's life. And he only had a week to do it.

Finally, the hardest part for Simon came up. "Also, fellas... You're the only ones who can see and feel me. No one else, not even Dave, can see me."

Theo began to sob. "That's not fair! How are you supposed to save someone if you can't even touch them?"

"Well, I can touch others, but they just feel air. Maybe they think they did it without realizing it. For example, jumping out of the way of a car. I may have pushed them, but they might think they did it themselves."

"Oh," a disappointed Theo said.

"But YOU guys can still see me, right? Aren't you guys happy?" Simon wanted to get rid of any bad feelings right now. That did it.

"Of course!" Theo and Alvin cried in unison. Theo jumped up.

"I'll go get some blankets for you," and ran from the room.

"Simon, I can't believe you're back," Alvin said, still in awe.

Simon shrugged. "Well, not for long. I have to leave again in a week, and then it's for sure. But for now, let's just enjoy ourselves, okay?" Alvin nodded, smiling widely.

Theo rummaged through the blankets closet, searching for Simon's blue quilt. However, the noise was enough to wake up Dave, who came out yawning. "Theodore, what are you doing?"

At first, Theo didn't know WHAT to say. Should he tell his father that Simon was back, but Dave can't see him, or come up with a white lie? "I uh... Simon's back, Dave! I'm getting his blanket for him!"

Dave raised an eyebrow, thinking that his youngest child had officially gone insane, making an imaginary brother and pretending it was Simon. However, Dave helped Theo get the blanket and carry it to their room.

When Dave opened the door, he just saw Alvin standing over Simon's bed, staring at it. When Dave came in, Alvin glanced up. "Oh, good. Simon, your blanket's here!" Alvin told the bed. Or so it seemed to Dave.

But in reality, Simon got excited, hopped off the bed, and helped Alvin pull the blankets on the bed the way he liked them. Dave watched as his two visible sons then crawled into Simon's bed, leaving a gap between them. He couldn't see his own middle son lying right there, snuggled between his brothers.

"Goodnight, Fellas," Dave said before turning off the light and heading out the door, still believing that his kids were insane.

"Goodnight, Dave," a chorus rang out. But Dave could have sworn it sounded more like a trio than a duet.


	8. School

Simon's POV

As Alvin and Theodore slept, I pretended to be asleep. In reality, since I was an angel, I didn't need to sleep. I, however, laid between them, enjoying their company, their warmth... Their life.

I sighed softly. If only I stood up to my aunt. If only I told someone what she was doing to me. If only...

There was so much I regretted not doing. So much I wished I could have done differently. But that's impossible.

A hand resting on my stomach woke me from my thoughts. I glanced at its owner: Theodore. Though asleep, he had a content smile on his face and was happily curling up against me, like he usually did. I smiled and patted his hand before resting my hand over his. If only there was a way to be alive again.

The night was long for me. I passed the time by counting various objects: floorboards, posters, hairs on Theo's head, and others.

Just as I finished counting Theodore's hair, I heard something in the other room. I quietly got up and tiptoed down the hall to the source of the noise. It was coming from Dave's room. I slipped through the slightly open door, and walked right up to Dave's bed. I gasped as I saw what he was doing: crying.

I looked at his hands. They trembled as they held something. I had to stand on tiptoe to see it. It was my glasses. My real ones, not the ones I had as an angel. Dave was cradling them close, crying softly.

"Simon, I'm so sorry. It's my fault you're gone. It's my fault for taking us to my sister's house. It's my fault I didn't realize you were getting hurt. I'm sorry,"

My chin trembled. It wasn't his fault. Not at all. It was only my aunt's and my fault. She hurt me and I didn't say anything. Eventually, Dave put my glasses in his side drawer and curled up under his blankets. I gave him a light hug even though he didn't feel anything, then headed back to our room. After I got comfortable between my brothers again, I went over that scene with Dave multiple times in my head. 'He thinks it's his fault,' I thought sadly.

Finally the sun decided to rise. I watched the alarm clock, knowing it would go off any second and wake my brothers to get ready to go to school.

Being nice, I reached over and changed it so it wouldn't go off today. Instead, I decided to wake them myself. I had nothing better to do anyway. I turned to Alvin first, knowing he would be harder to wake. I reached over and trailed a finger down his nose, making his face scrunch up from the tickle. Still asleep, he reached up and rubbed his nose, then fell limp again. I bit my lip so as not to laugh. Walking some fingers down his nose again, I snickered at seeing him make a face. A small, complaint whine could be heard from the back of his throat.

'Alright,' I thought. 'Enough games. It's time to get up.' I sat up a bit, pulled my pillow from behind me, and with a mighty drop, the pillow landed flat on his face. Crying out in surprise, Alvin sat up quickly, looking frantically around. His eyes narrowed when he saw me laughing quietly behind my hand. The next thing I knew, Alvin grabbed his own pillow and it hurled on top of my head. I stood up on my bed to get better leverage, but then I felt a hit from behind! Theodore woke up because of the commotion and joined in the fun!

The pillow fight lasted maybe 15 minutes. In that time, I not only gave some good shots, but I also received some good ones as well. Eventually Dave heard us and came up the stairs. When we heard the door opening, we all gasped, threw the pillows down, and jumped off the bed. The door opened.

"Fellas, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?" Dave asked, holding the bridge of his nose, indicating his annoyance.

"Yes, Dave," Alvin, Theo, and I replied. While Alvin and Theodore got dressed, I just lounged on my bed; I was already dressed. Then we all headed downstairs. Dave made my brothers a quick breakfast, and then we were off to school. I was thinking about how I could do this. Should I go to MY classes or my brothers'? I voiced my question.

"Maybe you could go half a day with Alvin, then the other half with me!" Theo suggested. "I need some help in math anyway,"

"Of course! That's a great idea, Theo!" I smiled. "I'll do the first half with you, how's that?"

Theodore grinned. "That'd be great! Thank you, Simon!"

I turned to Alvin, "What do you think? I'll spend the second half of the day with you. We'll meet at lunch and then I'll go with you."

It seemed like Alvin forced up a smile. "That's great. So I'll see you at lunch?"

I tilted my head a bit and looked at him. Something was wrong. "Yeah," I trailed off. "Is something wrong, Alvin?"

He glanced at me for a second then looked away. "Just... Take care of yourself. And Theodore."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll take care of Theodore, right?" He asked, looking at me. His eyes seemed to be pleading me to say yes.

"Of course!" I cried, putting my arm around my older brother. "Why wouldn't I?"

Alvin didn't answer. We walked in silence the rest of the trip to school.

Once at school, Alvin said a quick goodbye as he left for his locker, leaving Theodore with me. After spinning the combination lock and grabbing his books, Theo closed his locker and led me to his first class. Well, he tried to, anyway.

As we were walking, a jock grabbed the back of Theo's shirt collar, making him stop. I took a step back and just observed what was going on. 'Is this what Alvin meant?' I wondered, my mind racing.

The jock spoke quietly to Theodore, but since I was an angel, I heard every word clearly. "I have nothing to do, so you're gonna entertain me." The jock wrapped his hand around Theo's neck and squeezed, making my baby brother squeak. He dropped his books and grabbed the jock's hands, trying to pry them off his neck, but to no avail.

A flashback of one of the first things my aunt did to me skimmed my mind: she held me up against a wall by my neck and socked me right in the face. I saw the jock's fist clench, and my vision turned red. I yelled as I tackled the kid, knocking him down. He let go of Theo, who rubbed his neck, in the process. I made sure the jock was pinned to the floor for a second before letting him up.

It must have been the scariest experience in the world to him; an invisible force knocks him down and pins him to the floor. As soon as he stood up, he ran away, screaming hysterically, his jock friends right behind him.

I approached Theo. "You get bullied?" I asked gently as I fixed his hair and shirt collar, picked up his books, and handed them to him.

Theodore shrugged. "Yeah, but it's not too bad."

I felt a rock form in the pit of my stomach. My mouth pressed into one line. "Theo, when our aunt was hurting me, I didn't think it was too bad, and I never told anyone. Look what happened," I motioned to my transparency and the little halo. He got the point and looked down, ashamed. I quickly hugged him and told him that it was okay until he believed it. Then we continued to class.


	9. Dave's Turn

Simon's POV

Although I didn't tell Theodore all the answers in his math class, I did help him learn some procedures he didn't understand. It also didn't help our last name was 'Seville' with an 'S,' meaning we sit in the back of every class, since they're arranged alphabetically.

Finally, lunchtime came. Theodore quickly found Alvin, and the three of us sat at our regular table. I sat next to Theodore, and Alvin sat across from us. "It's so weird to see you without your glasses, Simon," Alvin mentioned, frowning a bit.

I grinned. "Well, now I have perfect vision! If I wear my glasses, everything actually gets blurry. I ended up dumping them while I was in Heaven."

"Still..." Alvin trailed off. I knew it must've been a bit weird. I've had glasses ever since the day we moved in with Dave when we were babies. For all Alvin knows, I could have had them my whole life. I smiled at remembering all those times he would wake me up in the middle of the night, then put my glasses on my face; he didn't like seeing me without them.

Theodore was leaning against my shoulder as he ate his sandwich. He sighed contentedly. "Simon, why can't you stay forever?"

"Because of our aunt," I said bitterly. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have been transparent, and I might have been eating now instead of watching everyone else eat.

Theo groaned. "I hate her."

"Me too," Alvin perked up. "She had no right to do that to you."

I just shrugged. Truth be told, she DID do it, and there was nothing I, or anyone, for that matter, could do about it. Being an angel, I had to just learn to accept it and move on.

I spent the rest of the day with Alvin, and kept him from nearly blowing up the school in his science class. Then we met up with Theo at the end of the school day and began to walk home.

We chatted about our day, and re-experienced the highlights throughout. I told Alvin about how I stood up to the jock when he was going to hurt Theo, and Alvin grinned widely at me. "That's exactly what I meant earlier," he told me.

Finally, we arrived home. "Hi Alvin, hi Theodore," Dave greeted. "How was your day?"

They jumped up and down excitedly. "Ecstatic!" Alvin cried. "Simon was able to help me with my science lab, and nothing blew up!" Dave gave a skeptical look, but let his sons continue.

"Then, with me, Simon stood up to the bully who's been harassing me," Theo told Dave. I ruffled Theo's hair.

"I'm proud of you," I whispered. I was glad Theodore had taken my advice and told Dave he was being bullied.

"You've been getting bullied?" Dave seemed surprised.

"Yeah. It's the big jock at the school. He always tries to hurt me, but usually Alvin gets there just in time. Today, since Simon's back, he stood up to the bully,"

Dave knelt down. "You boys seem to like to pretend that Simon's back, huh?"

Alvin sighed angrily. "No, Dave. Just listen, okay? Simon died, yes. But he came back yesterday as an angel, to complete a task. His task is to save someone's life. He has one week. The only downside is only Theo and I can see him; no one else. Simon really is here," Alvin seemed to plead for Dave's understanding. Alvin came up right next to me and put his arm around me. "He's right here, Dave. Can't you sense him?"

Dave stared at Alvin for a second before looking at Alvin's arm, which seemed to be just out in the middle of nowhere. In reality, he was looking at me. He didn't know, but he was staring right at my eyes. I stared right back.

Theo came up behind us and spoke to Dave. "Do you believe us?"

Dave sighed and closed his eyes, running a hand through his hair. "I dunno fellas. I want to, but it seems too much like a story." As Dave stood up, I remembered something.

"Alvin, anyone can see an angel from the corner of their eye. Tell Dave to turn and not look directly at us. He might see my glow or something,"

"Of course! Dave, turn and look at us from the corner of your eye. Maybe you could see Simon then," Alvin begged, tugging on his pant leg. Dave groaned but did as his son wanted. As he turned, I saw his eyes widen before quickly looking back at us again.

"Woah," was all he said.

"What? What did you see, Dave?" Alvin asked hopefully. As Dave answered, he turned again.

"I see a third shape between you and Theodore. It seems pretty pale-ish white. Is that Simon?"

"Yes!" Alvin and Theo cried happily. "He can see Simon!" We all cheered and danced in a circle. Dave watched for a second, then smiled and cheered as well. He knelt where he had seen me.

"Simon?" He asked. I grinned and ran up to him and hugged him. Alvin told Dave what I was doing since Dave couldn't see or feel me. "Simon, we missed you so much," Dave said, closing his eyes. I could tell he wanted to hug me back, but he couldn't.

That night, Dave bade us all, including me, good night. We all wished him a good night as well. Dave smiled as he turned out the light.

After Alvin and Theodore fell asleep, I headed to Dave's room. I wanted to be in my father's company again. As I pushed open the door and stood in the opening, Dave glanced over. But when he didn't see anything, he turned away again. I could tell he was looking for me from the corner of his eye. Finally he smiled. "Hi Simon," Dave whispered.

I felt like a heavy load was taken off my shoulders. I hadn't heard Dave say those words in a very long time, and hearing them now felt so good. I climbed up onto Dave's bed and knelt next to him.

He didn't look straight at me, but he was looking at me nonetheless. "So... You're only gonna be here for a week, right? That's too bad. I really wish you could be here longer," I turned my gaze down.

"I'm sorry," I told Dave, though he couldn't hear me.

"What was it Alvin said? You need to save someone's life? Huh, that would be a bit hard. Whose life? And when? Your deadline of a week is coming up very soon. I really hope you can do it in time..."

I heard him trail off, and when I looked at him, his eyes were closed, his head lolling to the side. I gently kissed his forehead. "Thanks, Dave," I whispered before heading to my room again.


	10. Having Some Fun

General POV

Simon was "awakened" by a large pillow landing against his face. What the pillow-dropper didn't know was Simon was already awake, and prepared for the hit. Simon grabbed the pillow and pulled it out of his attacker's hands. Cracking his eyes a bit, Simon grinned as he hurled the pillow at his attacker. Alvin fell off the bed with a grunt.

It was a bright Saturday morning, and Alvin, as usual, got up before the sun. "The more time with no school, the better," he reasoned. But he always wanted company. Before the incident, Alvin always would wake up Simon in this fashion so he could have someone to play with and get into mischief with. Theodore never really liked getting up early, so Alvin didn't find it as much fun to be with Theodore in the morning.

However, after the incident, Alvin never got up before the sun. Even on Saturdays. He always slept in way past 9. But today was special. Simon was back.

The two Chipmunks tiptoed downstairs, trying not to make any noise so as not to wake Theo or Dave. Alvin grabbed a pack of Pop-Tarts and put them in the toaster. One for himself, one for Simon. "What do you wanna watch?" Alvin whispered to Simon, who shrugged.

"Anything good that's on is fine,"

After turning on a show they both liked, Alvin came back to the kitchen. Just in time, too. As he watched, the Pop-Tarts sprung up out of the toaster. Simon tried to grab a plate but was too slow and ended up catching them with his hand instead.

He didn't see Alvin in the doorway, watching on with a concerned face as Simon grimaced from the hotness of the food and quickly placed them on a plate. Then he blew on his hand to try to assuage the pain. After a few seconds, the burning feeling went away.

"Simon? You okay?" Alvin asked as he took a step in. Simon jumped.

"Woah! I didn't know you were there!" Simon cried, turning around quickly. Alvin just stared. Simon looked away from his brother. "I guess I can still feel pain," Simon mumbled. He figured it was better to just tell Alvin instead of having it turn into a big ordeal. Besides, his aunt wasn't right there threatening to hurt him if he told.

Alvin walked up to Simon and gave him a hug. "You're okay, right?"

"Yeah,"

"Then let's not worry about it. Let's go watch TV!"

Simon smiled. "You bet!" And grabbed the plate with their breakfast and they ran to the den to watch TV together, just like old times.

After the movie, Alvin and Simon had finished their food, and were just about to head outside when Theodore came bounding downstairs. "Guys! Wait up!" He called. Alvin and Simon watched him run up to them, and then ran outside together. They played in their treehouse, re-enacting scenes from their favorite movies.

After a few hours of playing, laughing, and having a great time, Simon announced it was time to go back inside now. The Chipmunks did so, but were still giggling at some of the scenes.

The next day was Sunday, meaning another day of freedom. Alvin "woke up Simon" and today, instead of just watching TV, he wanted to do something more exciting. Simon rolled his eyes.

"Alvin, when you want to do something 'exciting,' it usually means Dave will end up hollering your name in frustration for what you did,"

"Exactly!" Alvin cried, dragging him downstairs.

"Do you even know what time it is? How can you be awake right now?" Simon exclaimed. It had to be at least four in the morning.

"Adrenaline!" Alvin cried excitedly. "I haven't done this in so long,"

Simon just rolled his eyes again.

Unfortunately, as Alvin went about trying to function in pitch blackness, he knocked over a pot from the sink. It fell with a loud CLANG to the floor. Both Chipmunks tensed and held their breath, waiting to hear any sound from either bedroom.

Nothing. They were safe. They sighed in relief. "That... was close," Alvin said, his heart still beating madly.

"Tell me about it," Simon agreed.

They tiptoed together out the window and onto the roof. Alvin explained his whole plan to Simon on the climb up. Now it was just time to execute it. Simon didn't agree with the plan, but it was better than having a depressed big brother.

Alvin opened the moon roof panel over Dave's room and began to get to work. His plan was to creep out Dave to the max. Dave hated spiders, and Alvin purchased a huge bucket of fake, plastic black ones he planned to hang from strings from the ceiling right above Dave's head. After Alvin hung a few and noticed Simon standing by with a skeptical frown, he pushed a spider into his hand.

"Here, Simon. Please do this with me?" Alvin asked sweetly. Simon sighed in defeat and began helping Alvin.

After a bit, so many spiders were hanging down, Alvin and Simon couldn't even see Dave anymore. "That's enough," Alvin instructed. They quietly put the moon roof panel back on, but not before Alvin stuck his face back under it and shrieked like a little girl, startling Dave awake.

As Alvin sped off the roof, he snatched Simon's hand as well. Together they raced off the roof, but not far behind them, Alvin could hear Dave's annoyed, "ALVIN!"

But today, he didn't seem as angry as he usually did; he was glad Alvin was feeling better from his somewhat depression.


	11. Ideas

The next day, Theo awoke first and tried to have a special morning with Simon, like Alvin did, but instead, Alvin woke at the same time as them. Simon could sense the tension in them, so he suggested they all go for a walk.

"Great idea, Simon!" Alvin and Theo cheered. They always loved going for walks with Simon; he always found something interesting for them to do.

Alvin cupped his hands around his mouth and called loudly into the house, "Dave! We're gonna go for a walk!"

A groggy reply, "Alright, but be back for lunch at noon,"

"Will do, Dave! Thank you!" Alvin jogged to catch up with his brothers, who had already begun walking.

The three brothers walked down their street, not exactly sure where they wanted to go, but knew they were going somewhere. Simon's great sense of direction kept them from getting lost. Finally, they made it to the local neighborhood park. There was a large play structure to climb on, four sets of swings, a huge field with a baseball diamond, and a picnic area. Trees and grass grew everywhere. This was the Chipmunks' favorite park to come to. Theodore immediately went on the swing, while Alvin climbed on the play structure, acting out some scene from his favorite movie, one they were giggling about the day before. Simon climbed the monkey bars but then sat on top. He was lost in thought.

'I'm seriously here, with my brothers,' Simon thought. 'I never thought I could be, yet here I am,' he smiled. Simon glanced over at Alvin, who was now apparently pretending to be captain of a ship, and he was going down with it, as the ship was sinking. Simon gave a skeptical look at Alvin, who was too busy to notice it. Then Simon looked at Theodore. He was swinging really high, his arms out, eyes closed. Simon knew he was enjoying the breeze. He always did.

A few hours passed and Simon soon told them they needed to head home. Alvin was very reluctant because he had school the next day and didn't want the day to end, but knew he had to leave anyway. As Simon led them home, they chatted about their favorite things at the park. "I like the swings!" Theo exclaimed. "They make me feel like I'm flying! Maybe when I grow up, I'll be a flight attendant, serving food on airplanes," he got a dreamy face as he looked up at a passing plane. We all waved before Alvin said,

"Well, my favorite thing at the park is the play structure! I like reenacting stuff, especially when I get sent to the plank and I have to jump off the thing! It's really fun!"

"Be careful doing that," Simon warned him. "You could land wrong or something," Alvin just rolled his eyes before Simon continued. "My favorite piece of equipment is the monkey bars because they test stamina and strength, and once on top, you can see the whole park."

Before they knew it, they reached their house, where Dave was waiting with open arms. "Just in time boys! I was just about to head out to go get you. Lunch is on the table." The Chipmunks cheered as they ran to the table, sat at their respective seats, and began their meal.

Before they knew it, it was dark and they were snuggled up for the night. Alvin just finished his nightly feud with Dave about having to sleep so early on a school night, now he was breathing heavily in his bed. Simon lay awake again, like he had done for the past few nights. It was then he pondered who he could save, and when. Time was running out. _If I calculate correctly_, he thought, _I've been here for four days. Tomorrow will be day five. I need to hurry. Let's see. Maybe I could find someone in trouble and save them… or I could help a cat out of a tree… or…_ Simon was running out of ideas, but he had all night. Ideas came and left him all night.


	12. Capture

General POV

Since the next day was a Monday, Simon woke his brothers again, but this time, he wanted it to be as entertaining as possible. He quietly snuck downstairs and opened the freezer. _I swear, some of Alvin's antics have rubbed off on me_, he thought as he grabbed two handfuls of ice and tiptoed back upstairs. He set one handful on their side table and held the other as he quietly snuck to Alvin's bed. Pulling the back of Alvin's pajama collar away from his neck, Simon dropped the whole handful of ice down his shirt.

Alvin's eyes snapped open and became wide before he screamed and leaped out of bed. Still yelling, he began pulling on his shirt, trying to knock the ice out. He danced around, desperately trying to get it out. Simon was lying on the floor in stitches, laughing so hard. Theodore awoke to the commotion, and upon seeing his oldest brother dancing, pulling at his shirt, and his second-oldest brother laughing his head off, Theo could guess what happened and chuckled at it too.

Finally, Alvin got the ice out and it fell to the floor. He picked it up and hurled it at Simon, who quickly evaded it before running to his stash on the side table and throwing his own. Theo got in on the fun too.

Dave opened the door. "What in the world is going on in here?" He cried, looking around the room for an explanation. He saw Alvin and Theodore dancing around the room, pulling at their shirts. Dave raised an eyebrow, but when the ice fell out, he couldn't help but crack a smile. Alvin glared at him.

"Simon woke me up!" Alvin cried, pointing to his dead brother. Dave chuckled.

"Well, at least you're up," he said as he headed downstairs. Alvin gave Simon the evil eye then headed down himself.

School was a fairly normal day. No one attacked Theodore, Alvin didn't blow up the school, and Simon was able to help his brothers again. It was a really nice day. On the way back home, they passed the park they went to yesterday. Alvin begged Simon to let them go play for five minutes. Simon refused, saying, "No, Alvin. We need to head home. Dave might get worried." But when Theodore began begging too, Simon gave in. "Oh alright. But only for five minutes, okay?" Alvin and Theo cheered and ran to their favorite parts: Alvin to the play structure and Theodore to the swings. Simon sighed and sat on the monkey bars again.

He glanced at his watch. "Alright, got it. Exactly five minutes, _only_," he said. As the time ticked away, he watched one brother, then the other. Alvin was pretending to be both characters from a romantic movie, kissing thin air as the guy then pretending to be a girl and batting her eyelashes prettily. Simon rolled his eyes. As he watched Theo, he was just beginning to get very high, squealing when he would get airtime from the swing. Simon smiled. He liked seeing his brothers so happy.

Suddenly, as Simon was watching Theo, a man dressed all in black came up behind Theo. Simon frowned. Sure, there were other people at the park, but none of them bothered his brothers. Without warning, the man reached out and caught Theo mid-swing. Theo tried to cry out, but the man's dirt-stained hand clamped over his mouth. Theo squirmed and flailed as hard as he could, but the man held a rag over his face. Within seconds, Simon saw Theo's eyes become glazed as they rolled back and Theo fell asleep.

Simon leaped off the monkey bars, ignoring the somewhat painful jolt going through his body from the landing. He ran to Alvin, but kept an eye on the man in black. "Alvin!" Simon cried. Alvin either didn't hear him or he was purposely ignoring him. Simon scowled. "ALVIN!" He screamed. Alvin looked cross as he glanced down.

"What?" A very irritated Alvin asked.

"Theo, he's been taken by a man dressed in black!" Simon looked over his shoulder. The man put Theo in his tinted-windows car and was now walking casually towards them. Simon gasped. "Now he might be coming for you!"

Alvin frowned as he looked over at the man. "He took Theo? Then why don't I let him take me so I can find out where he went," Alvin suggested.

"No!" Simon cried. "We need another plan, a bit more... foolproof." Simon thought for a moment. He had to hurry; the man was right there now. "Okay, here's the plan. You have to get home and tell Dave what happened. I'll follow the man and see where he goes, then come back and tell you so you can tell Dave, okay?" Alvin was listening intently, nodding. Simon saw the man was climbing the play structure now. "But you can't let him catch you!" Simon cried. "He has this rag and if he puts it against your face, you fall asleep!" Alvin got the idea and ran down the slide just before the man could touch him.

The man growled like an animal before taking chase after Alvin. "Run, Alvin!" Simon cried. "RUN!" Simon watched as Alvin sprinted around the field, the man not too far behind. Simon was glad Alvin was in boy scouts as well as Little League, or else he would have run out of stamina, which was exactly what was happening to the man.

He was slowing considerably until he just stopped. Alvin slowed as well, but turned and began running towards the entrance of the park, hoping to get home as fast as possible.

Simon, understanding his brother's horrible sense of direction, quickly sketched a map home on a piece of paper from his notebook, and as Alvin trotted by, Simon fell into step next to him and handed him the map. Alvin was saving his breath to breathe, so he just smiled at Simon as he continued on his way. Simon slowed and watched Alvin escape. Now for Theo. Simon ran up to the car and put his hands around the window, trying to see past the tint.

After a few seconds, it became clear and Simon was able to see in the car. He saw Theo sitting up, banging on the window Simon was looking in, a terrified look on his face. Simon smiled reassuringly at Theo, but Theo desperately mouthed, 'Get me out!' Simon nodded, even though he wasn't sure if he could.

The man was coming back, panting hard, his face red. He angrily jammed the key into the lock and opened the old car door. Simon slipped in just before he did and slid into the back, next to Theo.

"I need to find out where he's gonna take you," Simon explained, knowing the man couldn't hear him. Theo nodded reluctantly. "Alvin went back to tell Dave you got captured, and after I find out where this man is taking us, I'll go back to Dave's house and tell them so they can get you out." At this, Theo smiled.


	13. Informing Dave

Alvin POV

I ran as fast as I could away from the man. I knew I had to do it for my baby brother if I wanted to see him alive again. The thought of being an only child frightened me greatly and was what gave me the adrenaline to continue. I followed Simon's map to the T and I soon was in the familiar neighborhood. But by now I was panting slightly. I might be in great shape, but even athletes get tired too.

I sprinted up the front steps and burst through the door, where Dave was standing, his arm through one coat sleeve, as if he were getting ready to head out. He looked, startled, at me for a minute before asking the obvious question: "Alvin? Where have you been? And where's Theodore?" Okay, so it was a couple questions.

I fought to catch my breath. "We were at the park… and Theodore was abducted.. by a man dressed in black! Simon got… in the car with him so he can find out… where the man is taking Theo so he can come back and tell me… so I can tell you so we can go save him," I said through quick pants. Dave just stared wide-eyed.

"What?" He cried eventually. "Theodore is kidnapped? We have to save him!" Dave finished putting on his coat but I blocked the door.

"NO! What if Simon comes back right now and since you can't see him, you don't know where Theodore is, and it's all in vain? Don't worry; Simon has everything under control." Sure, I spoke the words, but I was still hesitant. Something inside me said we should be looking too. I smiled crookedly. "But I don't think it'll hurt to have the police on the lookout too,"

Dave's eyes brightened. "Great idea, Alvin. I'll call them right now," Dave quickly left the room and began dialing the phone. I went outside to wait for Simon.

"Any second now," I thought hopefully. "Any second Simon will be running here, telling me exactly where my baby brother is." I rested my chin on my hand and my elbow on my knee and waited.

I jumped at a hand resting on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw it was night. I had fallen asleep? When? I looked at the owner of the hand and saw Dave looking down at me. He held a large blanket around his shoulders as he sat next to me and wrapped half the blanket on me. I shivered and snuggled closer to Dave. Where was Simon? It's night. Surely something didn't happen to him, right? I mean, he's an angel. What could go wrong?


	14. New, Temporary Home

Theodore POV

It was a scary ride. The dark man never looked back, so I never saw his face. I was very scared. Where was he taking me? At least Simon was with me. I looked up at him and he smiled down at me, hugging me close. I felt safe as I sat next to Simon. He was so bold, so fearless. He could endure anything.

"When we get to where he's taking us, Theo," he kept telling me, "I'm going to need you to be a very good boy, okay? We don't want him to hurt you, and he won't if you do everything he wants. I'll help you as much as I can, but at some point, I need to tell Dave where you are so he can get you. Can you do that, Theo?" I would always agreeably nod, even though I was still afraid. What would the man do to hurt me? The same thing our aunt did to Simon? I shuddered. I could still see Simon's face in my mind, tearstained and bloody, begging me for help. I shook the image out for now. I knew it would never leave though.

I looked out the window, watching house after house go by. People glanced at us as we passed, but Simon told me not to wave for help, otherwise the dark man might see and hurt me. We drove for a long time. I watched the sun set and soon became tired. I yawned and rested my head on Simon's shoulder. He rested his head on mine and whispered something encouraging. "We're going around in circles. He's trying to get us lost so we don't know where we are. But we're just going in circles," I smiled widely. I couldn't talk for fear of the man hearing me, but I really hoped Simon knew the way back home from here.

Finally, we drove up into a driveway. The man got out of the car and walked over to my door. Simon whispered, "Now don't forget: be a very good boy," I nodded and sat in the chair, smiling at the man. I unlocked the door and cracked it open for the man, but I didn't get out. He grabbed the handle and opened it. I got out and stood next to him, like I did for Dave. The man said nothing but shoved me in the back towards the front door. I walked to it and stood there, waiting for him to unlock it. I saw Simon standing a few feet back, looking at the street names and houses, and finally, the house number itself. I didn't get a good look at it, but Simon seemed satisfied when he came up to us. "We live just a few blocks down," he told me.

I wanted to cheer, but kept a straight face so the man wouldn't know. He eventually got through all the locks and opened the door. I slipped in quickly so I wouldn't be shoved again. The man seemed surprised, but was satisfied. The house was semi-dark, with the lights all dimmed. To my right, I saw a large staircase which led to an indoor balcony overlooking the house. Along it were many rooms, but all the doors were closed. On the same level as me was a tile flooring which led through a small hallway to the kitchen. It was a mess, with pots and food all over the place. I shuddered. I knew dirty kitchens were the worst place to cook because of the toxin levels.

Across from the kitchen was the living room. It seemed like the coziest room in the place, but the holes in the moth-infested sofas and the large crack going through the TV made me shudder uncomfortably. The man pushed me by the hallway and to the staircase. I grabbed the sticky handrail and began my ascent. I glanced around for Simon; I hadn't seen him since I entered the house. He was walking behind the man, observing the boarded windows with the dark shades over them. He looked at me staring at him and smiled reassuringly. I smiled back and turned to the stairs again. Soon I reached the top and the man led me to a room. It was the second one from the staircase. He unlocked the bolts on the door and opened it. Dust fell from the ceiling where the door connected to the frame, making me sneeze. I walked in, but the staleness of the air overwhelmed me and I began to gag, coughing hard. There was a lot of dust and various floating things in the air, which glowed when the small strip of light coming from the boarded window shone on it. It looked somewhat like a hotel room, with a small bathroom as soon as I walked in, to the right. A bed sat in the middle of the more open area of the room, with a TV in front of it. But judging by the dust and grime on it, I guessed it wasn't working.

I walked in, observing my new surroundings. I was almost at the bed when I felt my shoe step in something wet. I looked down, but it was so dark, all I saw was a dark stain on the carpet. It was weird; unlike any water spill I ever saw (And I saw a lot of those). It was very concentrated and thick in one area, but I saw smaller, smeared areas across the carpet, leading behind the bed. I became uneasy, but as I turned to the man, he grinned maniacally and closed the door slowly, locking it. I ran to it and tried the knob, but after I tried it twice, I gave up; banging wasn't going to do me any help.

My stomach suddenly dropped when I turned around and didn't see Simon anywhere. My mouth went dry as I squeaked fearfully, "Simon?"

"I'm right here, Theo," came his reassuring voice. I turned quickly. He was in the bathroom, apparently, and just opened the door as I asked his whereabouts. I sighed in relief.

"Well, I think we're staying here for the night," I told Simon as I sat on the floor in front of the bathroom. He sat down in front of me.

"I guess," he said uneasily. "I need to get back to Dave and Alvin so they can come rescue you." He reminded me.

"Oh," I looked down, remembering. Simon placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me, waiting until I would look at him again. When I did, he continued,

"It's night, so you'll be fine. I don't think he's going to come back until tomorrow. I'll hopefully be back by then, so you won't even know I've gone,"

"Okay," I said hesitantly. I looked at him and hugged him tightly. "Please hurry," I whispered.

"I will. I promise." Then he stood up and walked into the bathroom. I watched in fascination. There was a weak spot in the wall behind the toilet. He slipped through a small hole he made earlier while I was observing the room, and disappeared into the darkness.

I was alone.


	15. They Know

General POV

Simon crawled through the small space until he found himself in the room next to Theodore's. Once there, he tried the door. Luckily, it was unlocked so he could easily just walk right out. However, as he opened the door, it squeaked loudly. Simon cringed. _Stupid door,_ he thought as he lifted it as high as it would on its hinges so it wouldn't squeak as loudly. Simon tiptoed down the hall and towards the stairs, his halo making a bright shine against the dark wall. He tried to douse the light with his hands, but the light went right through his small, transparent hands.

Simon sighed. _Maybe he won't see_, he hoped. Before he left the house, he checked on the guy dressed in black. He was fast asleep on the rotting couch in the living room, a ratty blanket covered him. Simon got closer. He wanted to see the man's face so he could identify him to the police. The man had many scars along his cheeks and dark stubble covered his chin. He had wrinkles all over his face, and judging by where they were, Simon could tell the guy frowned a lot.

When the man rolled over, Simon jumped and bolted towards the front door. When he saw it was locked, he quietly opened the kitchen window and slipped out, closing it behind him. Then he turned and began to run for home.

_Please let them be there_, Simon hoped. He didn't want to have to worry about finding them.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at home, Dave and Alvin had fallen asleep on the front step, each clutching their half of the blanket close. Alvin heard a loud howl and jumped. He was still a bit nervous about wild animals even though Theo, at one point, was a Were-puppy. Alvin's eyelids began to droop again as he realized there was nothing to worry about. But before he fell asleep again, something bright caught his eye. He opened his eyes and saw a white light coming towards them. Alvin smiled broadly. "Simon," he whispered, then he shook Dave hard. "Dave, look! It's Simon!"<p>

Dave woke almost immediately, his head snapping up. He turned his head so he could look out of the corner of his eye, and sure enough, he saw the light too. Alvin jumped up and ran towards the light, and as he got closer, he began to make out more and more of the actual shape of his deceased younger brother. Alvin tackled him and hugged him tightly, Simon laughing in relief. "Did you follow them? Where's Theodore?" Alvin asked in a rush. Dave came up to Alvin.

"Yeah, I did. He's actually only a few blocks away. If you want, we can go now and I can show you where it is," Simon told Alvin. Alvin smiled and turned to Dave.

"Simon says he followed the man and Theo is only a couple blocks away!" Dave sighed.

"Thank goodness. Should I call the police and have them rescue Theo?"

"No," Simon said while Alvin relayed it to Dave. "The man is unstable. The house is a mess; you don't know what he's got in there. If he hears the police, who knows what he might do to Theo to make them go away. We need to sneak Theo out of there somehow."

"How?" Dave asked.

"I… don't know," Simon admitted. Alvin groaned.

"You mean to tell us you don't want to help Theo?"

"No, no!" Simon cried. "Of course I do! I just don't want something to happen to him in the process."

"Oh," Alvin looked down. "Well, should we go there anyway, and Dave could bring his cell phone in case we need to call the police anyway?"

"Sure," Simon said hesitantly. He didn't want them to be seen. "But I need to go back in there to reassure Theo; he's pretty scared. Can I trust you guys to not do anything rash while I'm in there?"

Dave and Alvin nodded like good school boys.

"Okay, follow me."


	16. Traumatized

Theodore POV

I couldn't fall asleep. Not after seeing that.

After Simon left, I decided to look at my room for the night. The bathroom was in order; the toilet flushed and water came out of the sink. Grimy stuff came out of the shower, so I told myself I'd skip the bath until I got home. The bed was creaky and stunk like rusty metal. But there was a problem; the carpet did too. Especially on the dark stain.

My curiosity got the better of me and I ended up following the dark stain around the bed, but my blood went cold as I saw what was behind it. A rotting corpse lie there, saturated in the dark stuff I soon realized was blood. I turned, fell to my knees, and threw up. I vomited until every last thing was out of my stomach, and I even began dry heaving when there was nothing left.

I couldn't fall asleep. Not after seeing that.

There was no way to get away from the stench of neither the dead body nor the blood which soaked the carpet. I was scarred for life. I ended up staying awake all night, leaning wide-eyed against the main door. I watched the sun eventually creep into the small crack in the boards over the window and sighed. _Simon should be back soon_, I thought. Just as I thought that, I heard cracking sounds coming from the bathroom. I walked in there and looked behind the toilet where I watched Simon leave the day before. Sure enough, I saw the bright halo appear, and soon, my older brother stood before me.

I ran up to him and squeezed him tightly, sobbing into his shirt. He was a bit surprised as he said, "Theo? What's the matter?" I hiccupped as I tried to calm down. Flashes of the dead body ran through my brain and I pulled away from Simon before opening the toilet and dry heaving into it. When I turned around, my eyes all watery, I saw Simon's eyes were huge. "What happened?" He asked nervously.

I couldn't speak, so I just pointed behind the bed. He looked over but when he saw the blood on the floor leading back there, he refrained from walking over. Instead, he pulled me into a tight hug and stroked my hair. But, unlike when I would have nightmares, the vision didn't fizzle away. I became distracted, but I still saw it clearly. "Shh," Simon soothed. "You're okay, Theo. Dave and Alvin are outside right now. We're here to get you out. Can you follow me?"

I nodded, wiping my eyes. Simon led me to the hole in the wall, but before I could do anything, I heard the main door's locks begin to unlock. Simon gasped and grabbed my hand as he led me to the door just in time. "Be a good boy," he reminded me, and I forcibly smiled at the door, waiting for the man. Simon stood behind me, holding my shoulders.

The door opened and the man came in. He did a double-take when he saw me standing right there, smiling at him. I said nothing, and neither did the man. Instead, he pointed out the door. My feet were frozen to the spot. Simon pushed me gently so the man wouldn't shove me. I began walking and the man led me down the stairs, to the kitchen. I obediently walked in and stopped dead at the sight. A light was on in here, so I could see better than in my room. There were knives and large forks and such littering the counter, each covered with blood. My stomach churned, but because there was nothing in it, I didn't throw up. I felt Simon's hands become tighter on my shoulder at the sight. I could tell he was remembering about the knife which took his life.

The man spoke for the first time. "You've been a really good boy," he smiled. But his smile quickly left, leaving a seething scowl in its place. "I hate boys like that. It just makes me want to hurt them all the more so they can show who they _really_ are, and not some kiss-up child."

I paled and my mouth went dry. I swallowed hard, trying to get my mouth moist again, but it didn't work. The man grabbed a large, butchering knife and advanced on me. Simon turned me around and pushed me out of the way, just in time. I stumbled to the ground, but Simon helped me up, grabbing my hand and running upstairs, the man right on our heels. I was so scared. My heart pounded right out of my chest. Had Simon not been there, what would have happened? I was too afraid to think about it. Where was Simon taking me? There was no place to hide. Simon burst in the room next to the one I stayed in the night before, closed the door, locked it quickly, and pulled me with him. There was a hole in the wall he led me to. "This is where the bathroom hole in the other room leads to," he told me quickly. "But there's a bit of wall in between. If you stay here, in the wall between the two rooms, he'll never find you. And if he does, he's too big to fit, so you'll be able to slip through to the other room before he can get you," Simon told me, pushing me through.

It was a tight fit for me, with my big tummy, but I was able to fit snugly. Simon then stepped away and sat in a corner. I figured he wanted his glow to not be seen. I heard the door to my room open loudly. "Where are you, you little creep?" The man shouted angrily. I trembled. "I'll find you sooner or later, and when I do, you'll be sorry!" I heard him walk around in the room, searching all the small spaces. When he came in the bathroom, I curled closer into myself, trying to become smaller.

He got so close to the toilet, I could see his mud-stained shoes. I held my breath. Waiting. He leaned down and looked behind the toilet. I closed my eyes so he couldn't see the shine in them nor the tears of fear running down my cheeks. I felt and smelled his tobacco breath. I made no movement and waited. I felt his eyes on me a couple times, but then it was gone.

"I know you're down here," I heard him say. His voice was right next to my ear. I peeked and saw his hand reaching out. _This is it_, I realized, tensing.

Just then, a loud crash was heard downstairs, followed by a grunt. The man pulled his hand back and ran downstairs quickly, cursing. I let out my breath raggedly when I heard him reach the bottom of the stairs.

When my heart stopped racing, I slowly, cautiously peeked over the left wall I was hidden behind, to see if Simon was as relieved as I was because the guy left. But to my surprise, I didn't see my angelic brother. I frowned and leaned further out, trying to see if he hid himself somewhere else. But just then, I heard steps coming back up the stairs. I gasped and curled back into my hiding spot again.

I closed my eyes tightly when I saw the shadow; I didn't want him to see me. The steps entered the room Simon was in earlier, and I felt the floor vibrate with every step until the vibrations were right next to me. I held my breath, hoping another crash downstairs would send the man away. I tensed when I heard his knees land next to the small hole. I carefully cracked one eye to see what he was doing, and I saw the hand reaching right for me again. When it touched my shoulder, I screamed and tried to pull away into the other room. But he grabbed my ankle and pulled me back. I flailed and kicked with all my might, but he had a tight grip. He pulled me back towards him and clamped a hand over my mouth. I tried biting him, but his hand was domed so I couldn't. I felt him pull me against his chest, and I pushed with all my might, my shouts muffled by his hand.

"Theodore! Calm down! It's me, Simon! Shh," I was startled by his voice. I stopped yelling and squirming and opened my eyes. When I looked at him, sure enough, he was Simon, halo and all. He released me and I turned and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"No need to be. I didn't think I would scare you so badly; I thought you saw me coming up the stairs. It's my fault," Simon cooed, stroking my head soothingly.

"I did see you on the stairs," I told him. "But I thought you were the man." Simon nodded understandingly.

"I pulled out some of the pans in his kitchen and threw them on the floor, so it would make it seem like you were hiding down there. I'm glad he fell for it. But he might get angry and come back, so we need to get you out of here before he does." Simon explained quickly, trying to help me out of the hiding spot so we could escape.

But we were too late. The man stormed up the stairs, and I was halfway out of the hole. Simon gasped and tried pushing me back in, but the man saw me before he could. "Hey!" The man yelled as he ran to me. Simon ran, tackled him, and tried wrestling with him, but the man was in a blind fury and just kept swatting at the invisible force on him as he reached for me. I tried squeezing in the hole to get to the other room, but I was stuck. Panic overtook me as I tried desperately to get into my room. But it wasn't working; I was too chubby to be able to squeeze in so easily.

I felt him grab my arm and drag me out. I knew it wasn't Simon because the hand was much rougher and bigger, and didn't care if it broke my small arm as it lifted me right off the ground. Tears blinded me as I sobbed loudly for Dave. In my panic, I vaguely saw Simon, lying motionless, his light dulled, on the dark carpet. This just made me sob more as the man dragged me away.


	17. Rescue and Realization

Simon POV

My head throbbed terribly. The man had gotten me with a good one to my head, knocking me out temporarily. When I came to, it was dark again, and Theodore was nowhere to be found. I rushed downstairs and looked out the window to see if Dave and Alvin were still there. Sure enough, they were sitting behind a bush under the window, just where I told them to stay. I whistled and Alvin looked up.

"Simon?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," I said quickly. "Did the man leave?"

Alvin shook his head. "Why? Weren't you in there?"

I grimaced. "Well, yes, but as I was creating a diversion, the man knocked me out, and now Theo and the man are gone. Have you heard anything?"

"Yeah, it sounded like yelling. I thought you were there doing something though," Alvin said.

"Well, I'm sorry I was trying to help Theodore but got knocked out in the process," I said hotly. Alvin opened his mouth to retort, but Dave put a hand on his shoulder.

"Alvin, the man will hear you. Just let Simon do what he needs to and don't try to get on his nerves," he said calmly. Alvin frowned but nodded. I turned and went back inside, to find my baby brother. I tried not to knock anything over nor make the doors creak as I checked the entire house.

I was about ready to give up when I heard faint sobbing. I tiptoed towards the sound and was confused when I heard it loudest behind a side table in one of the bedrooms. I tried pushing it, and sure enough, it moved, revealing a dark opening. I squinted to see down. It looked like a straight drop. I took a deep breath and slid down. The ride was quick and I found myself in the basement, but through the hole in the wall was the only entryway.

It was a one-roomed cavern, with exam tables with shackles, whips, knives, and guns everywhere. I swallowed hard. It was then I looked for Theodore. It was fairly easy because he was lying on the table in the center of the room, cuffs holding his wrists and ankles down. The man was nowhere to be seen, but I couldn't worry about that now. I rushed to my captive brother.

"Theodore!" I cried, putting my hands on the binds. "Are you okay?" I looked over his tearstained face. He didn't seem like he was in too much pain, more like he was very shaken. His clothes were a bit ruffled as well as his hair. He nodded, answering my question.

"He dragged me down here. Literally _dragged_ me! I tried to stop, I tried calling for help, but I knew you were hurt upstairs, but I was hoping Dave or Alvin would come, like you said they were here." He sniffed. "But no one came! And he threatened me and said no one likes me and I shouldn't even be alive!" Tears poured from his chubby face. "T-then when he said t-that, he w-went upstairs, saying he was going to m-make it true!" He began sobbing again.

I tried pulling hard on the cuffs. They wouldn't budge. I began to panic, but stayed calm on the outside so I wouldn't worry Theo. He watched my face curiously. "Hey Simon?" He asked kindly.

"Yes, Theodore?" I replied, my mind thinking hard on what to do.

"You're an angel, right?"

"Yeah,"

"So then you have special abilities," Theo raised an eyebrow. "Right?"

I thought for a minute. He was right, I was an angel, so I _should_ have special abilities. "Uh, I dunno. Maybe," I didn't even know what to try. I thought hard on flying, but when I opened my eyes, I was still on solid ground. I thought about intangibility, where I could pass through things. Still nothing. I couldn't try anything else; the man slid down the chute and appeared in the room. I backed up so as not to draw attention to myself, in case he might see me out of the corner of his eye. If he did, he didn't care as he approached Theo, whip in hand. I saw my baby brother swallow hard. The man spoke. "Now, to hear your voice."

He raised the whip high above his head and brought it down, making a loud _crack_. A large rip appeared in Theodore's sweater as well as a large gash in his big belly. I saw his eyes close in pain, grimacing. He whimpered slightly. My eyes blurred with tears. I remembered that pain. Memories of my aunt hitting me with the belts flashed my mind and my body went on autopilot.

It seemed to know exactly what to do. I ran to the man, shoved him over, and began attacking his face. He was stunned, so he didn't fight back at first. Before he could hit me, I ran to the side of the table Theo was strapped on, and pressed a bright, red button. Immediately, the shackles released and Theo jumped down quickly.

"Run!" I yelled at Theodore. "Escape through the window by the front door! Find Dave and Alvin in the bushes and go home with them!"

He hesitated. "But-!"

"Go!" I cried. The man was getting up and began running towards the green-clad Chipmunk. I tried attacking him again, but he easily threw me off. I ran ahead, grabbed Theodore's hand, and ran towards the front door. I threw my fist through the window, ignoring the pain and blood running down my wrist and helped Theo reach it.

When he was crawling out and I turned to face the man, Theo cried hysterically, "What about you, Simon?" I put on a brave face, not for Theo, but for myself.

"Doing my duty. I care more about my family than I do my own life. Theo, I want you to get home, okay? Run home and don't look back."

Theodore, with tears streaming down his small face, nodded as he looked at me longingly for a second more before disappearing behind the sill. I heard joyful shouts from Dave and Alvin, but I couldn't make sure they were okay; I had to keep the man from following them, and he was just rounding the corner now. I concentrated on Theodore, everything about him. I closed my eyes and pictured Theodore. I felt a slight tingle, and when I opened my eyes, I _was_ Theodore.

And I was solid.

_This must be one of the "special things" Theo was talking about which angels can do_, I thought._ I can become other people. But I haven't been able to do it earlier because I didn't know I could. I needed Theodore to help me figure it out._ The man saw me and lunged, thinking I was the Chipmunk he wanted. I willingly went with him back down into the basement / dungeon behind the side table, unknowing as to my fate, but willing to accept it to help my family escape with their lives.


	18. Home

General POV

Theodore scrambled down off the windowsill and ran into the waiting arms of his brother and father, who were crying tears of joy for being with him again. Theodore instead was crying in relief to be safe at last. As they hugged, Theo remembered Simon. Theo thought long and hard. _He'll come back. He's just stalling the man, then he will come running out the window_.

But as Theo watched the window, he realized it was getting quieter and quieter and the sun was getting lower and lower. His nervousness began to bother him. Theo wanted to jump up on the sill and see what was going on, but he remembered Simon told him to not look back. Theo refrained from looking. He heard faint shouts, but they seemed far away. Theodore felt Alvin shift so he could hear better too; he heard the shouts. Dave just kept hugging them, completely oblivious to what they were hearing. Alvin and Theodore listened intently. They heard cries very similar to those they heard over the summer, through Dave's phone. Theo turned away and tried to shield his ears. it was too painful to listen to.

Alvin kept listening, and when the cries quieted down, Alvin pulled away from Dave and Theo. He jumped onto the sill and peeked. Dave and Theo watched Alvin's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates before he jumped down and stared at nothing. "What?" Theo asked hoarsely.

At first, Alvin couldn't answer. He decided right then and there his family would never see what he saw, but the image haunted him. He saw The man walking towards the stairs, dragging a bloody, limp corpse behind him. Alvin saw there was an illusion over the body which made him look like Theodore, but since Alvin was his brother, he could see right through it and saw Simon's body there. His halo was completely gone, a powdery dust lingered on his hair. His clothes didn't shine like they did when Alvin first saw him, and Simon's face wasn't pleasant and angelic; it was twisted into a hard grimace: the face he had when he died... again.

Alvin didn't even know if it was possible for Simon to die again. He was an angel, for crying out loud! But Alvin could see him, clear as day. Dead. Theodore's tugging on his sleeve snapped Alvin out of it and made Alvin look down at him. Theo gave him a questioning look.

"He's gone," Alvin whispered, closing his eyes, and they knew what he meant. Dave gave him a tight hug.

"Alvin, Theodore," he reached out to Theodore. "He's an angel; he'll be fine," Alvin's eyes became teary. He wasn't fine. "This is what he came down to do anyway, right? Now he'll go to Heaven, just like he wanted."

Alvin nodded sadly while Theo spoke. "S-Si... He wanted to make sure I-I got home safely. L-let's go so we don't g-get caught," he stuttered, not being able to say his brother's name once again.

Alvin put his arm around him and began the long walk home, Dave right behind them. "It'll be okay," he said reassuringly, though he was holding back tears as well. "Simon's where he belongs." And they walked home, ready to live their lives with new gratefulness for it.

* * *

><p>Simon POV<p>

It was terrible. I tried to do my best to not cry, but that's what the man wanted. So many thoughts ran through my mind, but only one was clear. Why?

I'm an angel, so shouldn't I be able to just leave? Nope: I had to endure it to save my brother. If I left now, the man would know and go after him again. I can't let that happen. But why did it have to be so painful?

My thoughts distracted me slightly from the stings and burns and scars I felt forming along my light skin. I saw him coming at me again and again, something different in his hand every time. But I was able to keep my mouth shut. For now.

When a particularly malicious hit stunned me, I cried out, and then the rest was a blur of eternal pain.

I eventually felt my body going numb. _Finally_, I said to myself. _I'm finally done._

Within seconds, I felt myself becoming completely numb, and when I did, I found myself able to leave the clear shell of a hologram I was in. I could just go right now, and Theodore's illusion I conjured would stay behind. I separated myself from the illusion and looked around. I was behind the bed in Theodore's old room. The corpse which scared Theodore so badly earlier staring eerily at me. I climbed to my feet, a bit shaky from the whole repeat of the torture experience. I noticed I was barely visible even to myself. I was light as a feather and could fly, thanks to some large wings I found on my back. My halo was here as well. I turned slowly towards the window and saw a light shine in. It looked like a tunnel, and at the end, like last time, I saw Mom, tears of joy in her eyes, and Cookie Chomper jumping up and down happily next to her. I pushed off the ground in slow motion and floated towards them.

In heaven, I was back in the arms of my mother once again, in a tight embrace. I had a lot more scars and marks all over my body than last time I was here, a week ago, but I succeeded in my quest.

I was with my mother, and I was home.


End file.
